The company told the Bristol Post that the decision to temporarily ban the bikes in seven areas across the city was data driven.

According to YoBike, their automated system highlights instances of vandalism and theft to them.

A spokesperson for YoBike said yesterday: “YoBike is currently retrofitting our bikes with new security measures to address the isolated instances of vandalism being instigated by a small group of people attempting to damage the initiative.

“The issues of vandalism have been limited to certain areas across Bristol, and as such we have temporarily reduced the amount of parking availability in these places whilst we retrofit YoBikes.

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While the company has encouraged riders to use the Bristol to Bath cycle path, it asks users to return the bikes back to Bristol – and retrieves any bikes left behind.

Going forward, YoBike confirmed it intends to expand its operation into Bath in the future and said discussions with the council are ongoing.

“We have actively approached Bath’s councillors to express our desire to operate in Bath in the future, and so far, their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” YoBike spokesperson Will Trafford said.

“Ultimately both YoBike and B&NES council have the same goal: to help more people cycle.”

Whether YoBike’s plans for a roll out in Bath will be affected by the problems in Bristol is yet to be seen, but the firm will now look to retrofit cable locks to help prevent vandalism.